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Apple has poached Chris Porritt, Tesla VP of vehicle engineering, to work on "special projects" at the Cupertino-based technology giant, according to Electrek and the Financial Times. "Special projects" at Apple is believed to refer to the company's rumored Titan car project. The hire comes after Steve Zadesky, who is believed to have run the car project at Apple, left the company in January after a two year stint. Porritt has had a long career in the automotive industry, having worked for Aston Martin as its chief engineer. It's not clear if Porritt has been hired to replace Zadesky on the Apple car project, or if he's simply joining the team to add expertise.

Apple has hired Chris Porritt, former Tesla vice president of vehicle engineering, to potentially lead development of the Apple Car, according to a report from Electrek. The two companies have had a recent history of cross pollination, with many former Apple employees now at Tesla and vice versa. Porritt could be taking over for Apple vice president of product design Steve Zadesky, who reportedly left the company in January. Porritt was Aston Martin's chief engineer of vehicle engineering before joining Tesla in 2013. "Tesla is a hardcore technology company, which means that anyone leading a team of engineers must be an outstanding engineer themself, as well as a good leader.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk calls Apple'the Tesla Graveyard', because those who leave the car maker usually end up at the iPhone maker. Now, it has been confirmed that the software giant has recently snatched up one another of their top executives. Chris Porritt, Tesla's former vice president of vehicle engineer, reportedly joined Apple to work on'special projects' - believed to be the firm's electric car. Chris Porritt, Tesla's former vice president of vehicle engineer, reportedly joined Apple to work on'special projects', which is also known as'Project Titan' – the firms electric car This announcement follows four months after news spread about Steve Zadesky, the alleged leader of Project Titan, leaving Apple. But according to sources involved in this matter at Apple, Porritt will be joining the team as'special projects group PD administrator', reports Electrek who confirmed the new Apple hire.

For being known as fighting to keep their projects secretive, Apple doesn't seem to mind that it's not so secret car project is known everywhere. Now, there's been a slight change in focus from being an automaker to developing its own self-driving technology. The iPhone-maker's automotive project, long an open secret in Silicon Valley, is shifting to focus on creating the technology for an autonomous vehicle that doesn't require a human driver. The new direction apparently doesn't foreclose the possibility that Apple might someday build its own car, but it opens the door to partnering with other car companies. The new emphasis was confirmed Friday by a person with knowledge of the project after the New York Times reported that Apple is "rethinking" its automotive strategy.

"Flatness" is an easy sell to millennial employees, who sometimes bristle inside conventional hierarchies. Tech companies such as Tesla, which are constantly fighting to retain prized engineers, believe it's important to reward them with a direct line to the top. In theory, it's basically a scaled-up version of how startups work. By thinning out management layers, the thinking goes, you accelerate the feedback loop between your generals and field commanders, allowing brilliant ideas to germinate quickly. That's how you stay nimble, right?